Royal Secrets
by lyzkyz
Summary: For as long as she can remember, Rose Hathaway has always lived a sheltered life, with only her father, their guardians, and a feeder. Newly seventeen, her father assigns her a new guardian to teach her about the Moroi world, and with her new freedom, she finds new friends as well, who help her uncover secrets about herself and her family.
1. 1

**Hey guys! I'm not new to FanFiction and used to be very active on this site but it's been a few years. I recently started reading VA again and want to practice my writing.**

 **Please leave feedback! I'm trying to gain motivation to write my own stories. Thank you!!**

 **1**

Every night, I dreamt myself a new life. One where I was Rose Hathaway, a normal seventeen-year-old girl. I had a mom and a dad. Maybe a few siblings. Definitely a puppy—specifically a Pyrenees named Snowball, with pure white fur. My dad always said the name was unoriginal, but I'd been dreaming of my dog since I was four. And besides, it wasn't like it mattered. Dad didn't like dogs.

The car ride to our new place gave me even more dreaming time. In this one, I even had a cute boyfriend, who took me on dates in public and bought me flowers. I didn't know exactly what happened on dates so I had to make it up as I went, but dreaming of a social life at least made me smile a little bit.

Dad attempted conversation a few times, but I just wanted to sleep and dream before we arrived at my new prison. When we passed through a city or town I opened my eyes and watched the people, cars, and buildings pass, envious of the people within them. The girls going on dates. The boys playing sports. Even the adults going to work. I wished I could be any of them but me.

After several hours of driving—no stopping, of course—we passed a sign that stated "Entering Missoula". It was a pretty city I supposed, kind of small. Trees and hills surrounded us, and again I watched the buildings go by.

Only this time, Dad took an exit. I glanced at him, wondering if he'd made a mistake. When he took a right turn and proceeded down a smaller road, I actually let my hopes rise just a little bit.

We drove through the city and entered a neighborhood, clearly inhabited by the upper class. Dad drive for a few minutes, then stopped in front of a mahogany house.

Dad's voice drifted to me from the driver's seat. "Rose?"

I didn't take my eyes off the house. "Yeah?"

"We're here."

I looked into the rear view mirror, wide-eyed, wondering if this was a bad joke. I couldn't decipher the glint in his eyes, but I knew by the smirk that he was enjoying my surprise.

"Seriously?" I still didn't want to get my hopes up.

"Do I look like I'm lying, Rosemarie?"

No, but then, he did withhold the truth a lot, and kept his daughter locked up from the real world. I swallowed, finally letting my mind wander. Neighbors. Malls. Stores. Real people.

"I was thinking we were going to live in it, but if you just want to stare—"

"No, no," I said, cutting my dad off. "Can we go inside?"

"Well, it is our house now. Come." He made a nod towards the house, meant for his guardian in the passenger seat and our feeder, Caroline, who sat beside me.

We filed out of the van, and my mouth opened in disbelief as we crossed the driveway. This was the stark opposite of the small, inconspicuous, middle-of-nowhere houses my dad usually acquired for us. Those places made it easy to stay hidden away, and hard for a restless teenager to run away. Believe me, I'd tried.

But this...this was beautiful. Trees in full bloom surrounded a perfectly manicured bright green lawn, with—this must have been my dad's doing—crimson rose bushes along the outside of the house up until the front door. The house had three huge vertical windows that gave me a glimpse of the living room before we entered. And, best of all, we had neighbors. Not ten miles away, but _right here_!

Dad led us up the cement steps with a fancy black railing to the front door. Producing a set of keys, he unlocked it. He opened the door and gestures inside, smiling at me. "Ladies first."

My mouth fell open wider as I walked inside. The place was so spacious and bright, with light walls and hardwood floors. My dad had hired someone ahead of time to move our furniture in, though I imagined he would have his guardian rearrange things later.

"Your room is down the left hallway, first door on the right," Dad said. "Your guardian will be here in half an hour."

I spun around, my amazement not enough for me to miss the last sentence. "Guardian? Dad, I don't want another guardian!"

"This isn't debatable, Rose," he said, completely dismissing me. "We'll talk later."

"Dad, come on!"

"Go to your room. We'll talk later."

Trying to argue with my dad was pointless. Once he decided something, there was no going back with him. He didn't have a temper like me either, so trying to rile him into talking was useless. I'd always wondered if that was a trait I'd gotten from my mother.

I sighed loudly, and stormed off in the direction he'd indicated.

I hadn't had a guardian for about a week, and I'd really enjoyed feeling less like a prisoner. I could pretend I was a trapped princess instead. Even though I knew I'd eventually lose the very, very slight extra freedom, it still pissed me off. It wasn't like I was allowed to leave the house anyway, what was the point? Strigoi weren't going to go through the whole effort of breaking into a house just for a seventeen-year-old girl. Still, my father always forced them on me.

When I found my room, I perked up a little. Four windows along the walls made my room feel very open. I'd have to close the blinds of course, due to my Moroi sunlight sensitivity, but still. It was nice to have the option. Someone had set my bed up against the back corner, and my desk was in the other corner. Aside from those things and my other furniture, everything else was in boxes. At least my dad knew I was independent enough to put my own stuff away.

I was happy to discover the small private bathroom attached to my room, complete with a shower. It was already stocked with towels, toilet paper, and other necessities. Someone had also put in a violet rug and shower curtain.

Next to my bathroom was a large walk-in closet, and I began life in my new room by putting my clothes away. I really needed new clothes and makeup, so hopefully Dad would finally let me go shopping instead of ordering everything online.

I put my clothes away slowly, as though that might make time pass slower. Unfortunately, half an hour later, I heard Dad call my name from the living room.

"Rose!"

I pretended not to hear him and hung up one of my favorite red shirts.

" _Rose_!"

The sharp tone in his voice when he called for me again made me flinch. No, my dad did not have a temper, but he also didn't like playing games with me, and I had been on the side of my dad's rare anger before. It was not something I wanted to risk again.

Reluctantly, I put the shirt I'd been about to hang up down and yelled back, "Coming!"

Leaving my room, I went back to the living room the same way I'd came. My father was waiting for me, standing just as patiently as ever, and yet he always managed to maintain this dangerous air about him. I truly didn't know what my father did for a living, and I was mostly sure I really didn't want to.

To his left stood a man I definitely did not know. The first thing I noticed was how tall and gorgeous he was. Like, make you stop in your tracks and drool gorgeous. I didn't, although maybe if I'd had, my dad would've fired him on the spot. His hair was long and brown, though not as dark as mine, and tied behind his neck. He had a nice tan to his skin, which was my first indication that he was dhampir.

The second indication was his rigid stance and the way his eyes darted in every direction. Guardian. I half-heartedly tried to hide my scowl.

Well, I supposed, at least if I was going to have a shadow, he was a very good-looking shadow.

"Ah, Rose," my father said cheerfully, well aware how much I hated this. "Do you like your new room?"

"Yes," I answered crisply, glancing at the eye candy that was going to be assigned to watch me 24/7.

I sighed, looking at my shoes. I guessed it could've been worse. He could've assigned me an old, washed-out woman, or some creepy guy, both of which I'd had in the past. The latter is who had just recently gotten fired, and I didn't want to know how my dad had gotten rid of him.

"Listen, Rose." Dad paused, and I looked up at him. For once, he had a serious look on his face. Like he was finding the best way to put his words. "I know I haven't been able to give you the best life, and for that, I'm sorry."

I blinked, trying to make sure this was real. My father...apologizing? I stayed silent, because I had no idea what to say to this strange turn of events.

"In less than a year you'll be eighteen, and I can't continue to hide the world from you. Caroline has done an excellent job schooling you, but there are a lot of things she can't teach you." Dad gestured towards the guardian beside him. "Rose, this is Dimitri Belikov, your new guardian and mentor. Guardian Belikov, my daughter, Rose Hathaway."

Dimitri bowed, low and gracefully. Surprising, considering how tall he was. I rubbed my arm, unsure of what to do, so I just said, "Um, thanks."

"Belikov came highly recommended. Top in his class, and has already made several kills." My father said this proudly, as though killing was a good thing. "I trust him to teach you in detail about our world and way of life, to prepare you to be out on your own." He paused. "In addition, I've also decided to give you some...freedoms."

I straightened up, suddenly a lot more interested in what he had to say.

"With my permission, of course, you will be allowed to go out. Shopping, eating, whatever it is girls do. Guardian Belikov will always accompany you as protection."

"Can I go now?" I asked immediately.

Dad frowned. "Let's get settled in, then we'll talk." He glanced at Dimitri. "Unless you have anything further to add, I believe we're done here."

"No, sir," Dimitri said. A faint Russian accent tinted his words.

"Very well. Guardian Belikov's room is beside yours, Rose. He will attend your practicing tonight, as normal, and he will begin teaching you tomorrow," my father instructed.

I gave my father a mock salute. "Can I go now?"

Dad gave that signature smirk of his. "Of course."


	2. 2

**Thanks for the reviews guys!! I'm trying to get back into writing and this really helps.**

 **My updates will likely be sporadic since I have a lot going on so I apologize. Thanks again for reading!**

 **2**

My father didn't teach me much about our world. For me, my "world" consisted of me, Dad, Caroline, my guardian and Dad's, and our house. But I knew that the real world consisted of more than just us, and Dad had told me enough that I knew we were different.

The world operated under human standards and government, the species that Caroline belonged to. The kind we fed off of. Dad and I were Moroi, or vampires as humans referred to us in legends. Guardians were dhampirs, or half-human, half-Moroi. Humans didn't know about us, mostly so we wouldn't become human experiments and humans wouldn't be tempted to turn Strigoi, which were the evil vampires who had no soul and were made, not born like us. They fed off of us, which is why we needed guardians to protect us. Our bodies were much more fragile than dhampirs.

Another thing that made us special was magic. Humans and dhampirs couldn't use magic, and Dad made sure I knew that humans couldn't know we did it. It was the only thing from our world that I practiced regularly. Dad told me that around fifteen or sixteen, I would specialize, or become better at one than the others.

I could use water, earth, and air minimally as I always had, but fire was my favorite, and since I had more control over it, I assumed this is what I specialized in.

I always trained in the afternoon, under the watchful eye of my guardian, which would be Dimitri now. At my normal training time that night, around six-thirty, I knocked and Dimitri's door and said, "I'm ready to start training."

Dimitri came out, looking stoic and ready for battle. He seemed more like a front lines kind of guy then someone who wanted to sit in a house all day waiting for nothing to happen.

"So, when are you going to start teaching me, Comrade?" I asked as we headed to the backyard. I tried not to look as excited as I felt about learning about the world.

He glanced at me. "How much do you know?"

"The basics. I think."

Dimitri opened one of the tall glass doors that led outside, and held it open for me. The backyard had a pool, which would be totally cool as the summer started getting hotter. It was a large area with a tall brown fence, perfect for keeping curious humans from seeing what I might be doing. Dad made sure I practiced magic regularly, because outside of guardians, it was the only line of defense I had against Strigoi.

As I walked out, I said, "My dad did tell you I've been a prisoner my whole life, right?"

He met my eyes, closing the door. In the sunlight, his eyes looked like liquid chocolate. "He has his reasons."

A second too late, I responded, "Yeah? Like what?" Turning my head downward, I hoped he hadn't caught me staring. Or seen the blush forming on my cheeks.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds. "To protect you," I heard him finally say from behind me.

Dimitri stood by the house, waiting for a nonexistent Strigoi attack while I practiced. I could make fire appear on my fingertip with ease, but fireballs were trickier. It took a lot of energy out of me, generally shortening my sessions to about half an hour. But after all the practice, I could finally make a fireball in the palm of my hand without burning myself out. I'd always thought once I specialized simple things like that would be easy, but I guessed everything required practice.

Making fire appear in a different location was much harder, and what I wanted to work on. I'd never seen a Strigoi, but I knew they were fast. If I had no guardian or mine was out for the count, burning them up before they reached me would be my only hope of surviving.

But after half an hour of trying and nothing, yet drained of energy, I sighed. As I passed Dimitri, he must have noticed the irritated look on my face, because he said, "I know a fire user. Perhaps she could teach you some things."

I stopped and looked at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "With your father's permission, of course."

"Ugh. Like that'll ever happen." The only times I ever saw other living people were the few times Dad had let me go shopping with him. No way would be let some strange person come here, even to teach me magic.

"I think you'd be surprised." He acted like he knew my dad better than I did. He hadn't even been my guardian for a day. "I'll talk to him."

"Thanks." I doubted it would work, but I still appreciated the help. We walked inside. I glanced at Dimitri, trying to seem casual again. "So...what can you teach me? I'll be eighteen next year, and so far I'll be walking into the world blind."

When I snuck a look at his face, I thought I saw a ghost of a smile. "No. We wouldn't want that. Tell me, what do you know?"

"Moroi good. Strigoi bad." We walked in my room. I sat on my bed, and Dimitri sat on the chair by my desk. "Dhampirs called guardians protect us, and we feed off humans. But humans don't know about us."

I looked at him, waiting to soak in all his knowledge like a sponge. He continued to look at me expectantly, and I realized he was waiting for me to say more.

"That's it," I said. "That's all I know."

For a second he looked surprised, but that look was quickly replaced by his stoic guardian look. "What exactly do you want to know?"

"Anything. Everything." I paused. "How did you become a guardian?"

"Most dhampirs attend special academies to learn to become guardians. Moroi students attend as well, but they have different classes," Dimitri explained. "I went to school in Siberia."

Jealousy swelled in my chest. Normal kids got to go to school with other kids. Make friends. Have boyfriends. Get in trouble.

I tried to swallow my envy with a joke. "Wow. I might be a prisoner, but at least I don't live in Siberia. Did you go to school with polar bears?"

Again, I caught just a hint of a smile on his face. "I doubt it's like what you're thinking."

I smiled. I had never lived with anyone so close in age to me — too old to be dating material, unfortunately, but young enough to be friendly with. I had never had a friend. "So what happens after a dhampir graduates? How do they decide who to guard?"

"That's a bit complicated. There's thirteen—well, twelve royal families. Most guardians are assigned to the members of those families. And the queen, of course, has many more."

"So, wait, not everyone has a guardian? Why?"

"Not all dhampirs become guardians. Some choose to raise children themselves. As Strigoi numbers increase...well, guardians are in short supply."

"Then why do I have a guardian? I think I'd know if I was royal." I put my elbows on my knees, chin in my palms, attentively listening to everything Dimitri said.

He looked at me for a few seconds, then said, "Your father does a lot to protect you. He has resources."

"Basically, my dad is paying you a lot of money, right?" I didn't know where or how he got it, but my father had always been a wealthy man.

"You should be grateful. A lot of Moroi are defenseless."

"What does it matter? Can't be in danger if I'm locked inside all day." The words came out a lot more bitter than I had expected. It was hard to be grateful to someone who wouldn't let you leave the house.

Dimitri didn't speak for a few moments. After a tense silence, he said, "After graduation, the guardian council decides who new guardians get assigned to. I was assigned to a Zeklos lord."

"So, what? My dad is paying you more?"

His face immediately hardened. "No. He was killed."

"Oh." Well I felt like a bitch. "I'm sorry." More silence. A dark look clouded Dimitri's eyes. I shifted uncomfortably. "I think I'm just gonna, uh, get ready for bed."

Dimitri gave me a curt nod, then quickly got up and left. After a few moments, I shut the door behind him and sat back down, suddenly wondering a whole lot more about Dimitri's dark history.

Later that night, right before I went to bed, I felt a familiar itch in my hands. The need to get a picture down on paper. Carelessly, I began rummaging through boxes, throwing things around, desperately trying to find my sketchbook and pencils. I _needed_ to get this down.

Finally, after trashing my room, I found them. Rushing to my desk, I opened my sketchbook to a blank page somewhere in the middle, and began drawing. My hand guided my movements, led by something other than my mind. I didn't know what the ending product would be until I was done.

As it was, I still didn't really know what it was when I finished. My drawings never made much sense. Randomly, I would get this compulsive need to draw. Weirder still, my drawings came true. I never told my father about them, but I figured it was some weird vampire thing, like in movies.

Unfortunately, having drawing premonitions wasn't too useful when I couldn't decipher them. On the page was two roses, one shaded black, the other white. The thorny stems intertwined.

The only connection I could make was my name, Rose. Roses. My mind drew a blank past that. I sighed, crawling into bed, feeling drained of energy. Useless psychic powers.


	3. 3

**3**

For the next few days, I put my energy into getting my new room organized, soaking up Dimitri's information, and training. Best of all, it was finally summer, so I didn't have to do homeschooling with Caroline for two months. I liked Caroline a lot, but I did not appreciate advanced Algebra.

It also took a lot of effort to hold my tongue and not harass my father. He had yet to mention my new privileges, and I was very quickly running out of self-control. I was so anxious to finally get out and explore, meet real people. I didn't think it was fair either that my father was withholding this from me. After all, Dad regularly went out to "work" - whatever that meant. He didn't know what it was like to be cooped up inside all day, without any social interaction.

Finally, I hit my breaking point. About four days after moving in and Dad giving me that speech about learning about the world, I found myself hanging out in the front yard. It was dusk, with the sky turning dark blue and the moon shining, sun nearly set. My favorite time to be out. Not completely dark, but not enough sun to bother my Moroi sensitivity.

Dimitri stood by the front door. I had no reason for being out, and he didn't ask, I simply wanted to be outside. I sat on the neatly manicured grass, legs crossed in front of me and palms on the ground behind me. The grass itched against the bare skin of my legs, but I didn't care. Being inside all the time was so stuffy, so suffocating. The fresh air felt amazing, like I was cleansing my lungs. I thought I could stay outside forever and be perfectly fine with it.

It wasn't very long before I spotted a car in the distance, the bright headlights causing me to squint. As it got closer, I admired the gorgeous blue Mercedes. I expected it to pass, but instead, it slowed as it came closer, then came to a complete stop in front of the house.

I heard Dimitri approach me from behind as the driver's tinted window rolled down, revealing an equally gorgeous boy. My pulse quickened as he gave me a heart-stopping smile.

"Hey, beautiful," the boy said, not even appearing slightly scared about the tall, intimidating Russian standing beside me.

"Hey yourself," I said, doing my best to give him a beautiful smile. I'd never had anyone to practice flirting with, but I'd seen movies, and this boy was too cute to pass up.

"No one told me the new neighbor was such a heart-breaker." His hair was so perfectly styled, and those sunglasses made him look model sexy.

I wondered if he could see the blush burning my cheeks. "You live around here?"

"Just down the block." He used his thumb to point behind him. "Got a name, sweetheart?"

I thought I might die. "Rose."

"Gorgeous name for a gorgeous lady. I'm Jesse." He flashed me a wider smile. I swear my heart nearly stopped when I saw the set of pearly white fangs behind his lips. Not only was he a cute boy who thought I was cute too, but he was _like me_. "I'm having a party this weekend at my place, if you care to join. Maybe we could get to know each other better."

I gulped. My first instinct, guided by both teenage hormones and desperation for social interaction, was to jump at his offer. But my father's face appeared in my mind. There was no way in hell he'd let me go. "I would...I can't. I'm...busy." Regret dripped from my words.

"That's a shame." His face and tone agreed with his words. "Why don't I give you my number? Call me if you change your mind."

"Rose," I heard Dimitri warn from behind me.

Of course, I didn't listen to him. My whole body was focused on Jesse and his words. I stood and approached Jesse's car, clenching my fists together to stop them from shaking. He handed me a small folded up piece of paper. "Thanks," I said dumbly.

He flashed me another heartbreaking smile. "Catch you later, Rose."

I watched him wistfully as he drove away.

Looking down at the piece of paper in my hand, I knew I couldn't do this anymore. The rush from talking to an attractive boy who liked me too was insane, and then there was just the underlying need to see other people, and have conversations. It was fun talking to Dimitri (usually), but he was super stoic all the time and acted like everything was business 24/7. I wanted to talk to someone who wasn't being paid to be around me.

Unfortunately, my father wasn't home, which at least gave me time to practice my speech. I turned to go inside, already thinking of my opening line, when I heard Dimitri say, "What was that?" beside me. He didn't necessarily sound mad, but there was a hard edge to his voice.

"What do you mean?" I was only half-listening as I imagine how my conversation with my father would go in my head.

"Do you know who that was?"

"No." I opened the front door and headed inside. "But I'm hoping to find out."

"That was Jesse Zeklos." He said the name like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "He has a bad reputation."

The name Zeklos rang a bell in my head, but I couldn't place where I'd heard it. "So? We were just talking. Nothing wrong with talking."

"He doesn't want to just 'talk' to you, Rose."

"Neither do I."

"Don't let hormones make bad decisions for you. Jesse isn't the type of Moroi who wants something serious, you're just going to get hurt."

My anger suddenly spiked, and I turned on my heel to face him. He looked a bit surprised by my sudden actions. "Don't fucking lecture me, okay? You haven't been locked up your whole life. I've never had a single friend, not one person to talk to. I'm seventeen and I've never even _talked_ to a boy who's actually interested in me, so don't act like I'm going to get naked with the first cute boy I see. For God's sake, I just want to talk to someone!"

I stormed off to my room, tears burning in my eyes. How dare he act like he knew me or anything about my life! He hadn't even been here a week, and he was already acting like a was some whore who slept with anybody in my path. And even if I wanted to, who was he to tell me what I could or couldn't do?

A few minutes after slamming the door closed and burying my face in my pillow, I heard Dimitri outside my door say, "Rose?"

"Leave me alone!" I yelled into my pillow.

Silence. Then I heard him walk away.

* * *

Sometime in my fantasies of telling my father off, I fell asleep. When I awoke the next morning, I pointedly ignored Dimitri as I made myself cereal and toast. He watched me, half looking like he wanted to say something, and half thinking it was smarter to keep his mouth shut. He chose the latter. Good choice.

During my breakfast, I prepped myself for what I was going to say to my father. Whatever I said, it needed to work. I couldn't be locked up anymore. I had finally felt what it was like to be flirty and social, and I _loved_ it. I was going crazy just sitting at the table alone - well, Dimitri was there, but only because my dad paid him. I had no doubt he'd be off to the next highest bidder the moment he got the chance. After all, he was used to guarding important people. Why would he want to stick with a lame job like protecting the boring life of Rose Hathaway? Besides, he'd pissed me off.

As I washed my dishes, I thought about my encounter with Jesse. His jaw-dropping, fang-filled smile. The sunglasses that made him look so cool. That sexy Mercedes. And I thought about my life, locked in my room, never allowed to leave except grocery shopping with dad and occasional mall trips with him. I had been a prisoner my whole life. By my own father. How could he do that to his daughter? How could he watch his own child be so unhappy? How could he deprive his teenage daughter of friends and opportunities that every other girl got? _How_?

Slamming my now clean plate down a little too hard, I turned on my heel and headed for my dad's study. No longer, I wouldn't do this any longer, and I sure as hell wouldn't be taking no for an answer. I was nearly an adult. I would run away again if I had to, and this time, I would stay away.

I heard Dimitri quietly following me as I stomped up to Dad's door, knocking hard three times. In my head, I kept reminding myself why I was angry and deserved this, because otherwise, I'd lose my nerve. From inside, my dad called, "Yes?"

I opened the door and took a few steps in, crossing my arms. "I'm sick of being locked up. I'm almost eighteen, I deserve to be allowed to go out when I want. I deserve to make friends and hang out with people. I'm not going to be a prisoner anymore."

My father didn't even look up from his computer. "Okay."

I opened my mouth to angrily fight back - until I realized what he'd said. I closed my mouth. Then I said, "Okay?"

Dad looked up at me then, an amused smirk on his face. "Yes. Okay."

This had to be a mean trick. I stared at him, telling him with my eyes that I didn't think it was funny.

He sighed. "Guardian Belikov and I had a talk last night. You're right, Rose. As I said before, you're nearly an adult. I can't protect you like a child anymore." He nodded behind me, to Dimitri. "As your guardian, Belikov will always accompany you. This is not debatable. Just...let me know beforehand, and don't get into any trouble. You're still my little girl." There was a soft glint to his eyes, one I'd rarely seen.

I stared at him, still trying to figure out if this was a trick. Then, I looked back at Dimitri. He wore that emotionless guardian expression, but when he met my eyes, I could see the corner of his lips turn up ever so slightly.

Looking back at my dad, I found myself grinning. Finally. After seventeen long years, I was getting my freedom.

And I knew exactly what I wanted to do first.


End file.
